Tim Koch

Tim Koch is a musician from Adelaide, Australia who completed three years of Music Technology at Adelaide University's P.A.T.U recording studio in 1998. Fascinated by 8-bit computer game soundtracks at an early age, Tim began experimenting with music and eventually began playing bass and drums in local bands. Considerably influenced by the more 'English' type eclectic electronica of the last decade, Tim began sequencing his own tracks with synths and drum machines. Tim has appeared on a number of overseas and local compilations usually under his 'Thug' alter ego, on labels such as M3rck Records [Miami], Negativland's label Seeland, Systorm Technologies [New York], Component Records [USA], Intr_Version [Canada], mini-disc label n5MD [USA], Global Recordings [Aust.], Lucky Kitchen [USA]. Tim has also done the in-game music and CD audio soundtrack to the PC game "Ultra Violent Worlds". Tim also manages local electronia label Surgery Records. Tim is a very busy man...

• live @ minke

• tim koch website
• tim koch @ myspace
• u-cover records
• surgery records

re:mote induction interview

Tim Koch is an Australian electronica artist, who has been producing some of the most enjoyable music in the field for several years now. He released under a range of names including Thug and 8-bit Orchestra and more recently more regularly as Tim Koch. Releases have come out on labels like Surgery, Defocus, n5MD and U-Cover, among others. His most recent release is the Island Tones disc on U-Cover, which we talked about along with his other work in general.

Re:mote Induction : One of your most recent releases is the album Island Tones - first impressions of which are that it is different from your previous work. Where does Island Tones fit into the body of your work?

Tim Koch: Well I suppose it is different and also similar. It is pretty strange to think that people's opinions of my work are kinda determined via each label picking and choosing the tracks they want on the release - as in my Defocus album was completely up to them .. I just provide each label with a backlog of what I think they might be into at the time. Islandtones is possibly more subtle and restrained than anything else of mine that has come out so far, with the inclusion of some more natural sounds such as acoustic guitar and voice. There are still more familiar beats etc that are perhaps more similar to older stuff of mine. I think Islandtones marks an in-between point for my next release to be a bigger departure from just straight beats and melody type of structure.

Re:mote Induction : Island Tones was released on the Belgian label U-Cover, how did you come to be working with U-Cover, they seem to have a certain approach with their recent releases - did that dictate your approach to the album?

Tim Koch: I just thought that they may be interested is some of the more ambient / mellow stuff I had done, and having heard some of their back catalogue via Esa Ruoho etc I thought it would be appropriate to send them some material. No the album seemed to form itself, in that U Cover moulded a collection of tracks from 3 CDRs or so full of my more ambient (for lack of a better word) material. It poses an interesting question, as to whether an album is better formed via this more random approach, or better to be planned and thought about before actually writing the individual tracks.

Re:mote Induction : You started releasing music under a variety of names, but seem to have settled on Tim Koch - can you tell us something about your musical history and where the different projects fit into that?

Tim Koch: Well before I did anything to do with electronic music I just played in bands and became interested in experimenting with an old tascam reel to reel 4 track recorder with just a guitar and drums .. then used an amiga500 for some crude percussion, and then it stemmed from there -- using trackers (octamed / protracker ) and slowly progressing to the PC and softsynths / hardware etc. I did a video game soundtrack for some friends, which had an album's worth of audio tracks on it as well, then shortly after released an album using the name Thug, which was possibly more upbeat and rhythmic. Then put out stuff from then onwards using my real name, just because it seemed to be more appropriate! Tim Koch material is just the same as Thug .. and the 8 Bit Orchestra alias is just video game inspired fun :)

Re:mote Induction : My first encounter with your work was through the Thug material on Monotonik, what role do you think labels like this serve? And what are your thoughts on the way that MP3s have changed the music industry?

Tim Koch: MP3 labels such as Monotonik / notype / Kahvi etc are very good in that they represent a musical expression of the electronic music community that exists online. They also just provide heaps of free music that is most of the time quite excellent- they bypass all the bullshit that is associated with the music industry in and genre and on any level - and just simplify the equation to : artist writes music -----) mp3 label releases it no questions asked / no contracts / no royalties / so it is a very pure and good way of getting music available worldwide .. and now with formats such as Ogg Vorbis we are getting smaller file sizes and better quality. Also the ultimate MP3 'resource' soulseek should get a mention .. as that introduces a whole new argument about online music .. it has come to the point where if anyone asks where they can get my releases I just say to look on soulseek .. which is good and also a bit of a concern .. but hard to know if the good outweighs the bad - I mean I have no problems with my stuff shared as mp3 .. but hmmmm , it will be interesting to see what happens when apple launch their itunes service :)

Re:mote Induction : some of those tracks are also featured on your early album Please Don't Tell Me That's Your Volvo - a progressive change in your sound can be seen from that period to present - how do you see the progression of your work - covering the ideas that you are putting into your music, the experience you have gained, and changes you may have made to the gear involved?

Tim Koch: Well most of the Volvo .. album was more upbeat and cheery kinda video game melodies etc, quirky rhythms - I mean I listen back to it and forget the fun I had doing those tracks, and makes me realise that I want to do more stuff in that vein -- I guess since then I have begun to do stuff purely with sound apps .. so alot of the old outboard synths etc have gone on ebay / been packed up .. but now I am tending to want to use more acoustic instruments, just recording big chunks of my drum kit and guitars and then dissecting it all into small segments and using them as sound sources for building tracks from scratch again.

Re:mote Induction : As a follow up to Please Don't Tell Me That's Your Volvo you had Please Don't Tell Me That's Your Remix and more recently you had another remix release - the Mine Is Yours MD on n5MD. Do you have an opinion on remixes - are they just good fun or something that has become part of the business?

Tim Koch: Well on a more commercial scale they maybe don't have as much significance - generally that is .. but in a scene such as online electronica they are a good representation of a group of online friends who like to muck around with each others tracks as a social thing, and often remixers reciprocate for each others releases -- it's not just a one off 'I wanna get xxxx to do a remix because he / she is a big name and will get me some attention' - although of course that still happens on any level sometimes! I guess the thing is possibly that with more experimental / abstract genres remixes tend to be whole new tracks - so are sometimes are seen more as 'interpretations' than remixes .. so may have more validity as songs in their own right :)

Re:mote Induction : Who have done the best mixes of your material? Who did you mix with the best results?

Tim Koch: You are just trying to get me to piss of everyone I don't mention here :) but friends who have done really nice remixes are : Sense / Pimmon / Boulderdash / and lots of the Volvo remixers as well .. but there are alot of mixes I have forgotten also that I have really liked.

Re:mote Induction : Which artists do you regard as your peers? Are there any new artists that you think that people should be watching out for?

Tim Koch: Well alot of the guys on Merck records, and all the online guys such as Sense / Epoq / Proem / Proswell etc .. all the guys who have formed this online community for feedback and somewhere to throw ideas about. Things are a little disjointed at the moment though with soooo many artists around in both the commercial market and also on the web, which is good , it just makes it harder to leave an impression at the moment.

Re:mote Induction : Do you get to play live often? How does your approach to the Tim Koch sound vary from when you are making a new release to when you are doing a live set?

Tim Koch: Recently I haven't played much at all, earlier this year I went down the east coast of AU .. and in a month or so will be doing Sydney / Melb / Adelaide with Sense / Dabrye / Machine Drum and Sutekh .. so that should be fun. I guess with live sets I try and finish off alot of half finished things .. and just play around a little more and try and imagine what people sitting / dancing / beard stroking / talking in the crowd would think if they heard it live .. but moreso now I try and keep things intentionally more bouncy and energetic live .. whereas in the past I may have thrown in more slow / beatless stuff just because I thought I could play whatever I wanted live stylistically .. but realise now that in general a rhythmic underlay always works better live .. unless it is a sit down art gallery / theatre kinda gig I spose.

Re:mote Induction : What are your plans for the near future? Are there any releases in the pipeline?

Tim Koch: Have a 40 minute release coming up in the U Cover40 series .. which is a series based around the premise of all releases being exactly 40 mins in length ! Apart from that I am working on an album for Surgery records, and also a split 12" for Canadian Civik Records.

Re:mote Induction : thanks for doing the interview

Tim Koch: no probs !